The associated reading for this reflection can be found in your Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal or online here.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus challenges his disciples to pursue righteousness that surpasses both the scribes and Pharisees, the model followers of the Torah in the time of Christ. Jesus calls us to radical transformation and complete obedience to God in discipleship — work that necessarily begins within our very own hearts.
It often feels like the scattered experiences of our lives, the events that make up our messy stories, are random, fragmented, and disconnected. Gently, Christ speaks directly to our hearts saying, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the past. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill it.”
Our Savior fulfills the law and prophets of history by living as God intends: by crowning Love to its righteous place of dominance. So, too, does he crown our pasts, seeing with the lens of only perfect Love, recognizing our stories as something whole, beautiful, and His. He invites us on a journey of holiness and fulfillment, which is ultimately a journey of healing, trusting that He only desires to integrate the fragmented places of our lives.
Where do we begin? I encourage you to prayerfully engage your stories, those places of pain and messiness and bring Jesus with you. Allow Him to bless those memories, the characters involved, and your own heart — He wants to heal everything about you, he wants to make you whole in Him.
My favorite way of going about this is to pray with Psalm 22. While praying with this powerful Psalm, I imagine myself beneath the shadow of the cross on Calvary with Our Lord. I often welcome alongside me the people that have hurt me in the past, calling to mind the pain within my heart. Praying slowly, I imagine Jesus placing His healing hands upon me. Next, I ask Jesus to bless the people that are with me on Calvary. To close, I praise God for His goodness and infinite mercy. Remember, God is the author of process, and His heart is to love us with gentleness and care. Jesus, I trust in You!
Zinjin Iglesia is a seminarian for the Diocese of Arlington, VA studying at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia. He enjoys all things coffee, good eats, kombucha brewing, the art of storytelling, and encountering God through beauty. Check seminary life out on the Instagram page he helps run for the seminary here.